Syracuse, Georgia Tech Set For Tuesday Tilt

On January 8, 2025By Littum

Syracuse (6-8, 0-3 ACC) returns home Tuesday for its first game in the JMA Wireless Dome in 2025 as the Orange welcomes Georgia Tech (8-7, 2-2 ACC) for a conference matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the contest will be broadcast live on the ACC Network.

Setting the scene

JJ Starling returned to Orange Saturday at Florida State and scored 12 points in his return. However, despite another 18 points at Chris Bell and a double-double from the freshman Donnie FreemanSyracuse lost to the Seminoles, 90-74.

The Yellow Jackets have split four ACC contests this season, the most recent of which was an 85-64 home victory Saturday against Boston College. Georgia Tech also knocked off Notre Dame, 86-76, on New Year’s Eve, the second triumph of its current three-game winning streak.

Damon Stoudemire is in his second season at the helm of the Yellow Jackets as head coach. Stoudemire guided Georgia Tech to 14 wins in his debut campaign, including victories over Clemson, Duke and North Carolina, all of which reached the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.

Syracuse-Georgia Tech series
The series between the Orange and Yellow Jackets is level through 18 meetings, 9-9. Georgia Tech has clinched the last few games against Syracuse, with last year’s matchup between the teams coming at McCamish Pavilion. The Yellow Jackets scored eight of the final 11 points to earn the win.

Syracuse’s last win against Georgia Tech came on Jan. 21, 2023 at McCamish. The Orange is 5-3 against the Yellow Jackets at the Dome.

Welcome back, JJ
Playing for the first time since Nov. 27, Starling returned to Syracuse’s starting lineup Saturday against Florida State to make an immediate impact. He knocked down his first attempt of the contest, a 3-pointer from the top of the arc, before drilling another jumper on the next Orange possession. With Starling on the floor to open the game, Syracuse established an early 12-10 advantage.

Starling, who missed the previous seven games with a hand injury, finished the first half as Syracuse’s leading scorer with seven points. He finished the night 5-of-16 from the field in 32 minutes of action.

On the season, Starling is Syracuse’s leading scorer with 18.7 points per game. He has reached double figures in all seven of his appearances on the campaign, and his 38 points in the Orange’s double-overtime win against Youngstown State are still the most by any ACC player in a game this season.

Awesome Freshman
Freeman has been a catalyst for the Orange in his debut campaign. He recorded his sixth double-double of the season Saturday at Florida State behind 16 points and a team-best 10 boards. The rookie is averaging 15.3 points over the last nine games and has scored 15 or more in six games over that stretch.

Freeman has been a versatile scorer, shooting over 50 percent from the field (68-of-135), 33 percent from beyond the arc (12-of-36) and 80 percent from the free throw line (39-of-49). The freshman has hit double-digit points in nine of 14 contests this season and has double-digit boards on seven occasions.

Ring the bell
Bell is coming off one of his best scoring performances of the campaign against Florida State, as the junior scored 18 points, tied for his second most in a game this season. Bell, coming off the bench for the first time in his career after 75 consecutive starts, went 4-of-4 from beyond the arc against the Seminoles and 6-of-7 from the free throw line.

His four triples against Florida State helped the Orange to a season-best 10 as a team. On the season, Bell leads the Orange with 15 made 3-pointers.

Carlos Rising

Jaquan Carlos was an excellent scorer and distributor in December as the senior averaged 10.1 points and 6.4 assists in seven contests. The senior recorded a 12-point, 12-assist double-double against Albany, set a season-high 16 points against Wake Forest and tallied 15 points against Georgetown.

Carlos’ double-double against the Great Danes was the first that included assists for Syracuse since Judah Mintz posted 10 points and 13 assists against Miami on Jan. 20, 2024. His 64 assists this season lead the Orange and are No. 7 in ACC.

After shooting just 11 free throws in the first eight games this season, Carlos has attempted 30 foul shots in the past six contests. He has converted on 23 of those attempts, which included an 8-for-8 effort against the Hoyas.

Depth Scoring Duo

Lucas Taylor and Kyle Cuffe Jr. has provided a recent spark to Syracuse’s offense. Over the last six games, Cuffe Jr. been a difference maker off the bench as the redshirt junior is averaging 8.8 points over those contests, including a career-best 14-point effort against Wake Forest.

Taylor has played double-digit minutes in every game this season and has made three starts, including Saturday against the Seminoles. He has knocked down multiple triples in four straight contests and is 10-of-19 from distance in that stretch. He has scored in double figures in each of the last two games after failing to hit the mark in Syracuse’s first 12 outings this season.

Crashing The Glass
As a team, Syracuse grabs 38.4 rebounds per game. contest, fourth most in the ACC. The Orange boasts a plus-4.4 margin on the season and has recorded double-digit offensive boards nine times on the campaign, including in four of the last five contests.

Three different Syracuse players have pulled down 10 or more rebounds in a game this season – Freeman (seven times), Eddie Lampkin Jr. (five times) and Jyare Davis (once). Lampkin has double-digit boards in three of the last four outings, while Freeman has hit double figures in two of the last three.

Scouting Georgia Tech
Lance Terry leads the Yellow Jackets this season with 15.6 points per game. competition. Baye Ndongo (12.7) and Javian McCollum (12.5) are close behind, with Naithan George also averaging double figures (10.0). McCollum currently leads the ACC in free throw percentage as he has hit 32 of 35 attempts (91 percent).

Terry leads Georgia Tech in 3-pointers (37), while Ndongo paces the team in rebounding with 6.8 per game. competition. George’s 95 assists lead the Yellow Jackets and are the most in the ACC.

As a team, the Yellow Jackets have connected on the fifth-most 3-pointers in the ACC this season (118) and are just behind the Orange in rebounding at 38.0 boards per. competition.

Freeman, Lampkin Jr. Make watch lists before the season
Freeman is one of 20 players to make the preseason watch list for the 2025 Karl Malone Award, which recognizes the best power forwards in Division I men’s basketball. Freeman, a McDonald’s All-American and the second-highest Syracuse recruit in program history, is one of two freshmen to make this year’s Malone Award watch list.

Freeman is Syracuse’s second-leading scorer this season at 13.4 points per game. He has six double-doubles in the team’s first 14 games and has scored in double figures nine times.

Lampkin Jr. is one of 20 preseason watch list candidates for the 2025 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, which goes to the top center in men’s college basketball. Lampkin Jr. is in his first year with the Orange and is averaging 9.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. competition with three double-doubles.

The list for both awards will be narrowed to 10 at the end of January, and then to just five at the end of February. In March, the five finalists for both awards will be presented to Abdul-Jabbar, Malone and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee, where the winners will be selected.

Orange fans are encouraged to participate in three rounds of fan voting, presented by Dell Technologies, at hoophallawards.com.

Tickets
Syracuse men’s basketball tickets are available online (cuse.com/tickets), by phone (1-888-DOMETIX) and at the Dome Box Office (Gate B).

For complete coverage of Syracuse men’s basketball, follow the team at X (@Cuse_MBB) and Instagram (@cuse_mbb).